Navigational sounding apparatus.



R. SCHNEIDER L R. O. MULLER.

NAVIGATION/n souNmNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATiON FILED AUG.24,1915.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI Snom/15015 R. SCHNEIDER. 1 Ri 0. MULLER.

NAYVIGATIONL SOUNDiNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.24. I9I5.

tented Sept. 12, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 fj TED STATES PATENT CFFIC.

RUDOLPH SCHNEIDER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND RICHARD O.

MULLER, OF BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO HELEN TANNER, 0F WASI-I-INGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

NAVIGATIONAL SOUNDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.l

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

Application led August 24, 1915. Serial N o. 47,187.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, RUDOLPH SCHNEIDER andRICHARD C. MULLER, citizens of the United States, residing atVashington, in the District of Columbia, and Branford, Connecticut,respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inNavigational Sounding Apparatus; and we do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specifica-tion.

The present invention relates to apparatus for navigational sounding andis designed as an improvement upon the sounding apparatus set forth inPatent No. 7 02,507 dated J une 17, 1902, to Z. L. Tanner, the objectsof the invention being to produce an 1 apparatus with which the payingout of the sounding line or wire may be more accurately controlled thanhereto-fore and the re-winding of the said line or wire eected throughthe instrumentalities of power mechanism incorporated in the machine orat the option of the user by manual operation.

A further object of theinvention is to provide a machine havingincorp'oratedtherein, i

a power re-winding mechanism which is under the accurate control of theattendant, such power mechanism being so arranged as to not interferewith the use of the machineas a manually operated machine, should thenecessary source of power be unavailable or temporarily inoperative.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,-Figure l is a front elevationwith parts in section and parts broken away to disclose the internalconstruction. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, the section line beingindica-ted in Fig. l at 2 2. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the housingfor the clutch j erating devices with which machines of this charactermust be equipped in order to adapt them for use under all the varyingconditions and eXigencies which may arise.

In the present instance the whole apparatus is carried by and partlywithin a main frame embodying a hollow standard A having a base portionformed by a bifurcation of the standard, the arms A of which areconnected with a fiat base plate A2 adapted to be secured in place inany desired situation on the deck of a. vessel or elsewhere. Said arms Aand base plate A2 form between them a chamber which extendsthrough thestandard from side to side and is adapted for the. reception of anelectric motor B suitably secured to the base plate A2 by bolts Z) orother appropriate fastenings.

At its upper end standard A is provided with a circular housing Cpreferably formed in sections with the edges abutting as at c in Fig.v land provided in its opposite sides with journal bearings C for arelatively long transverse shaft D. The shaft D carries upon it a vdrumE, provided with divergent peripheral iianges e and forming the channelfor the reception of the windings of the sounding line or wire F.

The housing C forms a rigid structure unlike the frame of the apparatusof the before-mentioned patent, and with the housing on each side ofthedrum E there are secured two uprights G forming the brake frame. Theseuprights G are adapted to be deflected toward each other at their upperends andk on their proximate faces they carry curvedbrake shoes gadapted to contact with the outer faces of the divergent iianges e whenthe uprights G are deflected toward each other.

For applying and controlling the application of the brake shoes to thedrum, the upper ends of the uprights G are provided with screw-stems Hhaving right and left hand threads thereon respectively and surroundingthese stems between the uprights, is a sleeve upon which is mounted orformed an operating handle H2, the arrangement being such that themovement of the handle in one direction or the other, will cause theapplication or the release of the brake shoes;

thus, the sounding ofiicer may, by the simple manipulation of the handleH2, accurately gage and control the speed at which the drum is permittedto rotate in either direction.

The. shaft D, journaled in the bearings in the housing, extends throughthe housing from side to side, but at one side of the housing is muchlonger than at the opposite side. On the ends of the shaft there arejournaled crank handle boxes, to Which boxes there are pivotallyconnected crank handles I adapted to be turned up into position forcoperating with the ends of the shaft for rotating the latter as in thebefore-mentioned patent. intermediate the crank handle on the long endof the shaft and the housing C the shaft carries poiver connectionsadapted to connect the shaft with the motor B. These power connectionsembody a speed reduction drive gearing and a manually controlled clutchwhereby the sounding officer, with one hand on the clutch mechanism.control handle and the other on the brake handle, is in position toaccurately control all of the movements of the sounding line or Wire ineither direction, it being understood, of course, that the sounding lineor Wire is normally adapted to pay out automatically and to be re-vvoundby the motor.

Specifically, the construction embodies in the form adopted forillustrating the invention, a sprocket wheel K journaled on the shaft Dand adapted to be driven from a small sprocket Wheel K carried by anintermediate shaft 7c, and rotated from the motor through sprocketWheels K2 and K3, the latter on the shaft of the motor. On one side,this sprocket Wheel K is provided with a conical clutch member L withwhich a complemental conical clutch member L is adapted to cooperate.The clutch member L is keyed on the shaft D and movable longitudinallythereon into and out of engage ment with its complemental member. Formoving the clutch member L longitudinally of the shaft, the shaft isprovided With a sleeve M connected with clutch member L by a flange andanti-friction thrust ball bearing iN Said sleeve is provided with anannular racevvay for the reception of inwardly projecting studs orantifriction rollers N carried by an annulus N from Which the operating`handle l 2 projects, as Will be readily understood from an inspection ofFig. l. The studs or antifriction rollers N extend through spiral slotsD, Fig. 3, formed in the Wall of an intermediate housing O Whichsurrounds the shaft and is secured at one end to the circular housing C.Said housing O not only serves as a support for the clutch operatingmember l 2, but also as a support for the upper portion of a hous- \"ingfor the gearing connecting the motor and sounding drum shafts. Thishousing indicated by the reference character P is shown in section inFig. l and its outline is dotted in Fig. 2. y

Suitable grease cups Q are provided in the bearings of the drum casingfor supplying lubricant to the shaft D and the ends of the crank handlesI, when turned into their inoperative positions, as Shown in Fig. l, areadapted to be held in suitable sockets or retainers formed in thestandard and housing P, respectively. In order to prevent interferencewith the gearing it is preferred that the retainer for the handle I onthe long end of the drum shaft shall be located at one edge of thehousing P, as shown by the dotted lines R, in Fig. 2 and by the fulllines in Fig. 4, but the handle on the opposite side of the standard mayproject directly into an opening or socket in the standard itself.

The starting box Sand rheostat S for the control of the motor B areconveniently located on a bracket A3 at one side of the standard A, thehandle s for the starting box being located at one side of the casing Cin convenient position to be reached by the sounding oflicer When he isin position for manipulating both the brake and the clutch mechanisms,so that all of these parts are brought into such relation that theofficer may control the movements with the greatn est ease andregardless of unfavorable surrounding conditions.

As in said previously patented structure the rotation of the Windingdrum controls an indicator T located at one side of the standard, butinasmuch as the gearing intermediate the indicator and drum 'forms nopart of the present invention, particular description of the same isunnecessary.

ln operation, the paving out of the sounding line or Wire is preferablycontrolled entirely by the proper manipulation of the brake operatingdirectly on the drum, and the Winding-up or re-Winding of the soundingline or Wire is preferably performed through the power connections withthe motor and under the direct control of the clutch connecting themotor, With the Winding drinn shaft. The motor, for example, may bepermitted to run continuously in a direction to 11e-Wind the soundingline, and after said line has been paid out to the desired extent, theclutch may be manipulated to immediately commence the re-Windingoperation, and the speed of the motor may be regulated through thestarting box if necessary, although an accurate control of the speed ofmovement of the Winding drum may be controlled by the propermanipulation of the clutch in connection With the brake.

It will be noted that the povver connections with the shaft D arenormally loose, thus the shaft is as free to rotate as would be the casewere no power connections employed, with the result that should thepower fail for any reason whatever, or should it be desired to make useof the apparatus, where no power is available, the apparatus may beoperated manually, through the medium of the crank handles, which areturned into position for that purpose, and held bythe usual catches.

The machine thus embodies all of the capabilities of the machine of theprior patent, and at the same time it is adapted for use with the powermechanism for relieving the attendants of the labor of re-winding andcontrolling the movements of the drum by a manual manipulation 0f thecrank handle connections. Y

What we claim is l. In a navigational sounding apparatus, thecombination with the substantially rigid housing, drum journaled in saidhousing and provided with oppositely extending crank handle connectionswhereby the drum may be rotated, of uprights attached to the inner facesof the sides of the housing and projecting above the same, said uprightsbeing adapted to be deected toward each other independently of the sidesof the housing, brake-shoes mounted on said uprights in position tocoperate with the drum, means for delecting said uprights toward eachother and a handle controlling said means located Yat the upper ends ofthe uprights.

2. In a navigational sounding apparatus, the combination with astandard, substantially rigid circular housing/carried by the standardand having oppositely arranged bearings therein, of a drum mountedwithin the housing, a shaft for the drum extending through said bearingswith crank handle connections at opposite ends of the shaft, brakeuprights located within the housing, connected at their lower ends tothe inner faces of the sides of the housing and projecting above thehousing at their upper ends, brake-shoes mounted on the proximate facesof the uprights in position to eoperate with the drum, and means fordeflecting said uprights toward each other independently of the sides ofthe housing embodying a screw and sleeve with which said screwcooperates, and a brake operating handle located on the outer side ofthe housing at the upper ends of the uprights.

3. In a navigational sounding apparatus, the combination with thesubstantiallv rigid housing having a plurality of openings in its upperedge portion, a drum journaled in the housing and inclosedthereby andprovided with oppositely extending crank handle connections whereby thedrum may be rotated, of uprights mounted on the inner of the housing,brake shoes mounted on said uprights in position to coperate with thedrum, means for defiecting said uprights toward each other and a handlecontrolling said means located at the upper ends of the uprights.

4. In a navigational soundingapparatus, the combination with a standard,a substantially rigid circular housing carried by the standard, aplurality of openings in the upper edge portion of the housing andoppositely arranged bearings in the sides thereof, of a drum mountedwithin and inclosed by the housing, a shaft for the drum extendingthrough said bearings with crank handle connections at opposite ends ofthe shaft, brake uprights secured at their lower ends to the inner facesof the sides of the housing and projecting at their upper ends throughthe openings in the top of the housing, brake shoes mounted on theproximate faces of the uprights in position to coperate with the drum,and means for deflecting said uprights toward each other independentlyof the sides of the housing, said dellecting Vmeans embodying a screwand sleeve with which said screw coperates, and a brake operating hanclelocated at the upper ends of the uprights on the exterior of thehousing.

5. In a navigational sounding apparatus, the combination with a'standard having its lower portion bifurcated and a circular casingcarried by its upper portion, a winding drum mounted in the circularcasing, a drum shaft journaed in the casing and projecting at one end agreater distance than at the other, a brake mounted within the casingfor controlling the movement of the drum, a motor mounted between thearms of the standard, gearing intermediate said motor and longer end ofthe shaft, said gearing embodying complemental clutch memberssurrounding the shaft, and a clutch controlling handle locatedintermediate the clutch and casing, and crank handles journaled on theends of the shaft, at opposite sides of the casing and gearing, withmeans whereby said crank handles may be operatively connected with theshaft.

6. In a navigational sounding apparatus, the combination with thestandard having its lower end bifurcated and a circular casing mountedon its upper end, a winding drum located within the casing, a windingdrum shaft j ournaled in the casing and projecting at one end fartherthan at the opposite end, a motor mounted between the arms of the lowerportion of the standard, gearing intermediate the motor and longer endofthe winding drum shaft, said gearing connected or disconnected forrotating the shaft, a brake located Within the casing and brake controlhandle located above the cas- 10 lng and in proximity to the clutchcontrol handle.

RUDOLPH SCHNEIDER. RICHARD O. MULLER.

embodying complemental clutch members surrounding the shaft, a housingprojecting from the casing around the shaft and clutch members, a clutchoperating handle carried 5 by said last mentioned housing, crank handlesmounted on opposite ends of the shaft, with means whereby said handlesmay be Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

